Summary
One of the main appeals of thePokemonfranchise is the Pokemon themselves, and it’s not just because of the action-packed battles they star in. Throughout the years,Game Freakhas managed to come up withdifferent clever ways of making some of these creatures really difficult to find and catch, which can be really rewarding for players.
Most of the rare Pokemon in these games are Mythicals that have important lore implications and/or are quite powerful in battle. But this is not true for all the rare Pokemon that can be found in the wild, since a good number of them are really weak or have disappointing designs. These are some of the most egregious examples of this phenomenon.
Dunsparceisone of the weirdest Pokemon from Generation Two. This is mainly because its odd design is mainly based off of theTsuchinoko, a common cryptid from Japanese culture. And, just like a real life cryptid, Dunsparce is almost impossible to encounter normally.
In Gold, Silver, Crystaland their remakes, Dunsparce can exclusively be found in the Dark Cave, where it has a 1% chance of popping up (Although these odds can be increased by using Rock Smash on a rock or by finding a swarm) The reference to its real life counterpart is appreciated, but this Pokemon is so uninteresting that it’s not really worth the effort.
Johto introduced a lot ofweirdly fragile Pokemon that should’ve had one or two evolutions, andQwilfishis one of the most infamous examples. What’s even weirder is that this is not even a common fish that can be found everywhere, but it’s one of the most elusive creatures in the entire region instead.
InGold, Silver & Crystal, Qwilfish can be found on Routes 12, 13 and 32, but only if the player is using aSuper Rod, which is one of the best fishing rods in the game. And even then, there’s only a 10% chance of encountering a Qwilfish. It’s definitely not worth all that trial & error for a weak & dull fish Pokemon like this one.
Following a similar trope, there’s alsoRelicanthfrom the Hoenn Region. This aquatic Pokemon is based off of the Coelacanth, an ancient fish that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1938. And even today they’re not easy to find, so Relicanth obviously follows this pattern.
InRuby, Sapphire, Emeraldand their remakes, it can only be found on a few underwater routes, with its probabilities of appearing going from 1% to 5%, which is not a lot. What’s even worse is that these routes are filled to the brim with members of theChinchouandClamperlfamilies, so players often get tired of seeing these Pokemon before they can even encounter a single Relicanth. While far from a weak Pokemon, it is not especially strong or appealing enough to make this a rewarding experience.
Chimechois one of the most elusive creatures of the Hoenn Region, since it can only be found at the top of Mt. Pyre, with a 2% chance of appearing inRuby, Sapphire & Emerald, that was increased to 5% in the Generation Six remakes. With those very small odds, this must be a special Pokemon for some reason or another.
Chimecho is extremely cute, and it became relatively popularbecause of the one thatJamescaught in the animebut, aside from that, there’s nothing about this weak Pokemon that justifies the tedious hassle of walking through the grass patches of Mt. Pyre over and over.
Munchlaxis infamous among fans that completed the Sinnoh Pokedex in Generation Four,as it’s nowhere near as easy to find as its iconic evolution, Snorlax. The only way of finding this baby Pokemon in the wild, is by slathering honey on a Honey Tree. After 6 real life hours, players can check on a tree again, but there’s only 1% chance of a Munchlax appearing in it.
To make things even worse, this Pokemon can only spawn in 4 out of the 21 Honey Trees in the entire game, and these are determined by each trainer’s specific ID number. This is just so overcomplicated and stress-inducing that it’s just easier to breed a Ditto with a Snorlax that is holding a Full Incense (which is also not that easy to obtain).
Pokemon Platinumadded the Resort Area to the Sinnoh region, where the player can fish in order to try and find the elusiveKing of the Lake, a unique creature that is mentioned by an NPC. In reality, this is nothing more than a Level 100Magikarp, which has a 1% chance of appearing.
The King of the Lake is even rarer than full odds Shiny Pokemon, so not many trainers in the world can say that they own one of them. The only problem is that… it’s just a Magikarp. Not only is this a Pokemon known for being extremely weak,but the fact that it’s Level 100 means that it can’t even evolve into aGyarados.This one is just for the bragging rights.
Manaphyis infamous for being one of the most complicated Pokemon to obtain in Generation Four, since players needed to transfer a Manaphy Egg from another video game:Pokemon Ranger. But, to be fair,this is a Mythical, which means that it has interesting lore, an appealing design, and it’s relatively useful in battle.
However, the same can’t be said about its offspring,Phione. This Pokemon can only be caught by either breeding a Manaphy or as a reward for transferring 999 Pokemon to the gameMy Pokemon Ranch. Those are two different spin-off titles that can be used to obtain a Phione, and none of this is worth it, since this Pokemon is weak, uninteresting, and it can’t even evolve into a Manaphy.
Back in the days ofHeart Gold & Soul Silver, Game Freak released a special event starring a new form ofPichu, known as theSpiky-Eared Pichu. This Pokemon became somewhat popular among fans, because of her appearance in the movieArceus and the Jewel of Lifeand her addition toSuper Smash Bros Ultimateas an alternate costume.
Like most Pokemon that can only be obtained via special events, Spiky-Eared Pichu is very rare and not many fans can say they legally own one. However, there’s nothing special about this new form (aside from the small spike in the tip of her ear): she doesn’t have any special stats, moves or abilities and, since it’s a Pichu, it’s very weak. She can’t even evolve, meaning that there is no Spiky-Eared Pikachu or Raichu either.
In the more recentPokemongames, rare Pokemon are usually worth the effort because they have solid designs, are quite strong or both. But inSun & Moon, it seems that Game Freak decided to go back to their roots by creating a weird aquatic Pokemon that can only be found by fishing, but has small chances of appearing, which is similar to Qwilfish.
Dhelmisehas between 1% and 10% chances of being encountered when the player is fishing, which makes it one of the rarer creatures in all ofSun & Moon. All of this is for a Pokemon that, while admittedly unique, hasan unconventional design that did not resonate with most players, and it can’t evolve. Battling-wise, Dhelmise is not powerful enough to justify this repetitive endeavor.
As if Dunsparce wasn’t already weird enough,Scarlet & Violetrecently introduced its brand-new evolution:Dudunsparce,a hilarious Pokemon that just looks like an elongated Dunsparce with more segments in its body. And what’s even funnier is that it comes in 2 forms: Two-Segment and Three-Segment, with the latter being extremely difficult to obtain.
The chances of finding a Three-Segment Dudunsparce is 1 in 100, so naturally, a lot of players have evolved countless Dunsparce until they find one. All of this mindless repetition is just to get a form whose only difference is an extra part. While Three-Segment Dudunsparce is a bit taller and heavier - which enhances moves like Heavy Slam - this alternate form feels like a prank from the developers to make players suffer.
